Wednesday, December 3, 2008

notes on driving

I've long said that Utah has the worst drivers I have ever encountered (no offense to my Utah peeps.) Their inability to merge is somewhat baffling, the rubbernecking is ridiculous and to top it all off they can be just plain rude.

That being said, I don't know if that is worse than the drivers in the good ol' state of Oregon. They are a different breed to be sure. To start with, the 55 mph speed limit on the freeway is usually strictly followed, in fact, most drivers feel safest when driving 5-10 miles below the speed limit. I am typically not a speed demon but have felt like one even when driving a mere 62. And while I appreciate the "no, really, after you" mentality, it can make one crazy when one driver decides to let everyone on the on-ramp nudge in before you. There is typically confusion as to which lane is the fast lane, it typically varies from the middle lane to the right lane. This is hard for me to get used to, I'm your regular, "left lane, fast lane" kinda gal. I'm sure most of you are aware that it rains in Oregon, a lot, which would make one think that driving in the rain would come as second nature. But you would be wrong my friend, it seems to throw the whole driving eco-system (is there such a thing?) into mayhem, pure mayhem. And then there are all of the bumper stickers. If you're not frustrated enough by the lack of driving aptitude you can spend your time reading the bumper stickers, every good Oregonian has one.

I will some day get used to the rain. I doubt I will ever get used to the driving.

I haven't been able to see your blog for weeks because of my lack of internet...so I'm catching up. I agree with you about the Oregon drivers. But, one thing that I LOVE is that typically they are so courteous that if they see you coming "fast" in the "fast" lane, they will get over and let you go by (at lease south of Tualatin, which I know you rarely drive).